Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Smart Food Storage System to Enable Consumer Food Waste Reduction
EPA Contract Number: 68HERC23C0024Title: Smart Food Storage System to Enable Consumer Food Waste Reduction
Investigators: McCray Driscoll, Rachelle
Small Business: Wisely, Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: December 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023
Project Amount: $99,910
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I (2023) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: SBIR - Homeland Security , SBIR - Air and Climate , SBIR - Sustainability , SBIR - Water
Description:
In the US, an estimated one-third of food is wasted at the household level which results in significant environmental impact. The total greenhouse gas emissions of US food waste are estimated to be 70 million MTCO2e. While food waste is generated at all stages of the food supply chain, over 50% of all food waste is generated at the consumption stage. Most of the waste occurs within households. Often, this waste occurs due to a lack of consumer knowledge of available food, leading to stored food products ultimately spoiling in the fridge.
Lack of food visibility in refrigerators has been found to be a leading cause of food spoilage and an increase in "food mindfulness" has shown to be an effective intervention for food waste reduction.
In Phase I, Wisely Inc., developed a Smart Food Storage Container System which includes hardware, software, IoT sensors, and a companion app, that aims directly at reducing household food waste. The system is built to tackle the problem by allowing users to track the time and conditions under which their perishables have been stored.
The Wisely Smart Storage Container System is designed to help consumers with awareness, planning, and inventory management, by providing new levels of food visibility. The intervention provides consumers the ability to remotely track food stored in the Wisely Smart Storage Containers in real-time.
In addition to visibility, our system will also provide app notifications that are triggered by certain events to help make consumers aware of their food storage data. This insight gives the user the ability to take action, which can ultimately prevent food waste. A review of data-driven literature finds that "nudges", including food reminders, have been found to be an effective tool for consumer food waste behavior change.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
During Phase I, Wisely successfully demonstrated its intended technical objectives. Our team worked through mechanical, electrical, and other technical tasks in preparation for commercialization, which concluded in the following technical milestones being met:
- Integration of temperature and humidity sensors for measurement tracking of conditions
- Tested and developed a strategy and design that offers longer battery life in cold storage environments
- Tested and developed manufacturable PCBA layout and design which includes appropriate circuitry and initial firmware interface
- Enabled Wi-Fi connectivity for the Wisely Smart Sensor component and the Wisely Companion App which enable real-time updates to the end user
- Tested, developed, and deployed an Android prototype mobile application that is capable of collecting and reporting necessary data to the end user and the Wisely team
- Successful launch of mobile application in the Google Play Store for alpha testing
- Tested, prototyped, and assembled 150 Wisely Smart Storage Units using DFM-ready manufacturing principles with food-grade materials
Conclusions:
The successful completion of this work established the viability of Wisely's approach creating a strong foundation for commercialization in Phase II.
The Wisely Food Storage Container System is technically feasible and also commercially viable, as a way to reduce food waste in the home. Customer discovery coupled with large retailer interest, has shown a current demand in the marketplace. Wisely's unique function and design of the product offer an innovative and novel approach to a food waste reduction solution that meets the needs of both agency objectives and consumer demand.
During Phase II, Wisely is partnering with a major university to conduct a large user study that will assist in establishing the patent-pending smart storage container system as a viable option to reduce consumer household waste. In addition to the study, our team will use methods designed for manufacturing to bring the units to market at scale.
In the time since our Phase I award, Wisely also saw success with various media feature articles.
The Wisely team was also invited to participate in several highly sought-after industry events such as Entrepreneur Week at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Venture Connect in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the ReFED Summit in St. Louis, Missouri. All opportunities highlighted the positive impact the EPA SBIR grant had on the development of the product.
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.